Drum heads have traditionally been made of natural materials such as leather or other animal derived membranes. Although the sound quality produced by natural membrane drums is very good, the membranes are expensive and their durability is poor. Furthermore, natural membranes are sensitive to moisture and other ambient atmospheric conditions; therefore, drums having natural membranes must frequently be re-tuned. As a result, synthetic materials are generally used for the fabrication of drum heads.
Synthetic drum heads are fabricated from sheets of polymeric material, such as polyethylene terepthalate and the like. Synthetic drum heads are very durable, relatively low in cost and environmentally stable; however, their sound quality is not as good as that of natural membrane drums. This is primarily a result of the fact that the synthetic material is relatively rigid and tends to propagate and sustain unwanted overtones. These undesirable vibrations are usually referred to as "ringing". The problem of ringing is further exacerbated by recording equipment and other such electronic sound systems.
A number of approaches have been implemented in the prior art to lessen ringing and restore a natural sound to drum sets. In some instances, drummers place a body of cloth or other similar material against a drum to deaden the drum head action. This approach is only partially successful and tends to limit the active surface of the drum which can be played. Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,782 which describes a drum head fabricated from a laminated composite of a rigid plastic sheet and a synthetic fabric. Yet another approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,266 which discloses a foam rubber ring which is adhesively attached to the inner surface of a drum head for deadening vibration. A similar approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,280 which discloses a series of foam rubber blocks which are adhesively attached to the interior surface of a drum head. The devices of the '266 and '280 patents require disassembly of the drum for attachment. Furthermore, the adhesive attachment, and interior location, of the members precludes their easy removal and/or repositioning.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated that there is a need for a device which can be utilized to deaden or muffle ringing associated with synthetic drum heads. The device should be easily attached and removed from the drum and should not unduly interfere with playing of the drum, or the aesthetic appeal of the drum set.
The present invention provides a device which effectively muffles drum head ringing. The device may be quickly attached and detached from the drum head, without disassembly of the drum. The device does not affect the tuning of the drum, and may be configured to actually enhance the appearance of the drum set. The device of the present invention may also be used in connection with other percussion instruments such as cymbals, and may be utilized as a mute to decrease the volume of a drum. These and other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the drawings, discussion and description which follow.